Should pastors learn how to write a devotional for their people?  

Sermons and worship services are powerful, Spirit-filled means of speaking hope and truth into the lives of church members… but they aren’t the only tools at the pastor’s disposal. 

Honestly, relying solely on the Sunday morning service would be a great disservice to your congregation. While the spoken word is the primary teaching means of churches, the written word, especially daily devotionals that align with the weekly teaching, is a practical and meaningful way to provide discipleship and biblical teaching beyond Sunday morning. 

Yet many pastors feel intimidated by writing a devotional for their church, mainly because they’re unfamiliar with how to write a devotional. Pastors take preaching classes but rarely do they take writing courses in seminary. Not only does writing a devotional for the congregation feel daunting, but it can also feel like a waste of time to invest energy into something you’re not good at or convinced will help your people. 

How do you start to write a devotional? 

How do you know when you’re done writing a devotional? 

How much work will it actually take to pull this off? 

Will a devotional that compliments the sermon really help my people?

Not only is writing a devotional a great place to start writing for the benefit of your church, but it’s less work than many non-writers would think. Without doing any additional study, preachers can write devotionals that help people walk with Jesus in accessible, powerful ways. 

Below, we’ll look at strategies and approaches that will serve your church as they seek to follow Jesus. 

What is a devotional?

Before we go any further, let’s clarify what we mean. 

For our purposes in this article, what is a devotional?

A devotional is a brief, scriptural, personal, intuitive, and self-directed tool designed to help users grow in knowledge of and intimacy with God.

Emphasis on brief; we aren’t asking people to carve out an hour in their morning. We are helping them connect with the LORD perhaps while they eat their breakfast, while their toddler watches an 8-minute Bluey episode, or during their morning break at the office.

When you write a devotional, you are writing something that will lead to a brief connection with the Lord.

A devotional offers an alternative to scrolling social media or aimlessly flipping through a Bible. A devotional is not a short article or academic treatise (a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject); it is a chance to connect in a personal way with the personal God we love… but so often and so easily feel distant from Him. Devotionals are invitational by nature.

Any daily devotional you write will often begin with a scriptural passage or reflective reading, but it typically culminates in open-ended reflection questions. The reader may not even fully answer the questions you pose while reading the devotional, but it may linger in the subconscious mind throughout the day. It has the opportunity to be a tone-setting activity; instead of being a functional atheist, how might they sense, see, and walk with God today in the busy grind of their life?

The movement of a devotional is twofold: 

1. Brief content
2. Prayerful reflection 

Why write a devotional?

Writing is work and work takes time. What is the return on investment? Is it actually worth it? After all, we’re pastors, not writers; shouldn’t we leave this work to someone else? Will it be a good use of my time? Sometimes the work of pastoral writing feels like it encroaches on the work of pastoring: shepherding key volunteers, visiting the sick, and praying fervently for the congregation. However, pastoral writing can be part of the pastor’s core function: the ministry of the Word. 

Devotionals reinforce the sermon.

The most basic function of a devotional written by a pastor is to reinforce the sermon. 

Most congregants begin listening to a sermon, intending to take in every point the pastor makes. Still, they often miss key points because either the speaker wasn’t holding their attention, a child was crying, or they were so impacted by a previous point (which is a good thing!) that they missed the following point the pastor made. 

If your devotional highlights one or two points from your sermon, perhaps with a fresh illustration, you will give congregants a chance to get something from the sermon they missed or an additional bump for those who need help remembering. 

Much of teaching and education is reinforcement, so being redundant in your written devotional with material from your sermon is good.

Devotionals supplement the sermon.

Pastors spend hours on sermon preparation and then only spend minutes delivering them. Often, so much good material lands on the “cutting room floor” and that material has the power to transform the lives of your congregation.

Perhaps you are doing a sermon on marriage and have five great points but can only fit in three because of time constraints or the general flow of the weekend service. A devotional can be a form of “director’s cut” so you can introduce an idea or insight that didn’t make it into the sermon.

Devotionals can address cultural issues.

Maybe you don’t want to do a whole sermon on abortion, but want to invite people to meditate and pray on Psalm 139:13: “you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Without taking up Sunday real estate, perhaps because you’re doing a series on the Psalms of David and it just doesn’t fit with the sermon calendar, you can inform people’s thinking on a topic in such a way that helps them engage in the hot topics of the day.

Devotionals help people grow in spiritual disciplines.

Growing in spiritual maturity means growing in spiritual disciplines like prayer and daily Bible reading. Many don’t yet know how to do these on their own, and devotionals can be a way of modeling and teaching people how to ask questions of the text, apply the text to their lives, and pray through Scripture passages on their own.

The devotional process can serve as a crutch that guides people toward discovering and developing their ability to do their own unfacilitated Bible studies and prayer times.

Devotionals can be written for small groups.

Devotionals don’t have to be individual in nature. Sometimes devotionals can be written in such a way that they facilitate group discussions and prayer times. A simple devotional designed for small groups of as little as two people can enrich friendships and families as they move closer to Jesus together. 

Why (Not) Write A Devotional?

A key concern about writing is the additional work. But here is the thing – you already did most of the work. Past sermon notes, previous meetings you’ve led, or position papers you’ve developed serve as material that ought to be reused. 

It is foolish to think that material should only be used once and then stored in a cabinet, never again to see the light of day.

Writing a devotional after preparing a sermon is only about 5% more work. The return on investment from that additional 5% of work (and maybe 5% at most) is worth it!  A pastor might spend a dozen hours creating a special class that a dozen or so people are able to attend. Or, a pastor might spend twenty minutes creating a devotional that can be emailed out to the church that 50% of the church might create time and space for in their lives. 

Like any new endeavor, it might feel clunky at first, but then it’ll become second nature. The learning curve for writing a devotional for your church isn’t that steep for pastors. A little prayerful intentionality will be a significant investment in the lives of people inside and outside your church.

Who is this devotional for?

Clarifying who you’re writing to is the first step in the writing process. 

Is this for leaders in your church?

Moms, dads, or teens? 

Having specific people in mind helps shape the vocabulary you use, the questions you ask, and the means of distributing the content. 

To connect with multiple audiences, you may write a few editions of the same devotional or have reflection questions that address different issues readers might be dealing with. 

If you’re writing a devotional for teens, you might ask, “What is one way this might play out as you walk between your first and second class of the day?” 

If you’re writing to dads, you might ask, “How does this shape the energy you want to bring with you when you walk in the door after work?” 

Whereas if you’re writing for leaders, you might ask, “How do you see this playing out when someone you’ve invested time and energy into walks away from you and the church?”

Similarly, the language you use for each audience matters. If you are writing to leaders, you can use more complex religious language without definition or explanation, but if you are writing to the general congregation who are new to spiritual formation and discipline, using overly complex wording will leave them feeling frustrated, inferior, and defeated. 

Different types of devotionals

There are many different approaches you can take when writing a devotional.

Sequential Exposition Devotionals

Sequential exposition usually involves a series of devotionals that build on each other. For example, consider a devotional on the book of 1 John. It is sequential because it unpacks a text in the order it was written; it’s exposition because you’re unpacking the text. 

Perhaps the sermon series you’re working through is on obedience or the book of Genesis; doing a weekly devotional that takes people through the book of 1 John over the course of a couple of months adds variety to the spiritual diet. 

Topical Devotionals

Topical exposition is similarly a series of devotionals, but the series is organized by theme instead of by going through books of the Bible. 

For example, you might do a five-part devotional on money or a thirty-day devotional on grief. For these devotionals, the topic drives the content and there is substantially more “picking and choosing” verses that fit with various themes, issues, or needs. Yet, these are still expositional devotionals – after picking the verse or verses that are the centerpiece of reflection, you’ll still root the bulk of the reflective material in the text.

Illustration-Centered Devotionals

Illustration-centered devotionals aren’t unbiblical, but they are not biblical. Like Jesus told parables, these are similar and work like a sermon illustration. In one of these devotionals, you might tell a story about how your child was scared in the middle of the night and how you were pleased to comfort him and then invite people to meditate on how God the Father is pleased to help us in our times of need. You might attach a Bible verse that conveys a similar theme, but these are primarily pastoral parables.

Calendar-Centered Devotionals

Calender-centered devotionals are written for seasons or days that help people engage mindfully with their calendars. A devotional you write for Labor Day might help people reflect on God’s purposes for work; a devotional written for Thanksgiving might help people lean into seeing all that God has given them and all they have to be thankful for. 

Advent devotionals are an extremely popular type of calendar-centered devotional, helping people stay focused on Jesus and the incredible gift of His birth amid all of the commercialism and busyness that comes with the Christmas holiday season.

Multi-faced Devotionals

Multi-faced devotionals are a mashup of multiple styles. For example, for Holy Week you could do a sequential exposition on the last third of the book of John and highlight how it corresponds to the Holy Week calendar. Or, you could do a topical devotional on the communicable attributes of God and insert an illustration from your personal life where somebody represented an aspect of God’s character to you in a powerful way. 

Ask good devotional questions

Asking good questions is the most important and most difficult part of writing devotionals. 

Good questions draw people out and unlock powerful insights into their inner lives while asking bad questions might come across as passive-aggressive interrogation or lead to basic and unhelpful single-word answers. This mindset is similar to pastoral counseling or even the types of questions we ask our kids to find out how their day went.

Building Questions

Let’s look at the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12 as an example. First, Nathan opens with an illustration: there once was a rich man who took something from a poor man. What do you think about this man? David answers by saying the rich man stands condemned. Nathan then turns it back on David—“You are the man!” 

First, Nathan provides a window, and then he turns the window into a mirror. 

“What do you think about people out there?” is a nonthreatening, open-ended question people love to answer. “What do you think about you?” is a hard question for people to answer as we are defensive by nature, and being that internally aware takes an openness and intentionality that few possess. So, progressing from the window to the mirror helps people learn to see themselves. 

Think about this in concentric circles: the biggest circle is “people out there,” the next smaller circle is “people in our community,” and the innermost circle is “you and your heart.”

Building questions might practically look like this:

1. Our world, country, and even our fellow believers have become increasingly divided over the past decade. What are some ways you have witnessed this division in our country?
2. The Church is not immune to this. What are some ways you have seen this division in your church community?
3. You and I are not immune to this. What are some specific ways you have been guilty of growing division between your family or friends instead of pushing for the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17?

These questions move from “out there” to “in here” and thus progress in intensity, building on each other as they go.

Reflection Questions

Reflection questions are designed to create space for people to prayerfully consider themselves. Rather than Question and Response, they are more open-ended and aren’t “leading questions.” These are more imaginative and also serve as journaling prompts. 

Here are some examples of these questions:

1. What environments are you in when you are most aware of God’s presence? What about those environments help you to sense Him?
2. Psalm 1 gives us the picture of a man who is like a tree. How do trees grow? How does thinking of yourself as being like a tree shape your life with God?
3. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us to “consider the birds.” Sit outside or look out the window for five minutes, paying careful attention to the birds. Set a timer on your phone, then set it out of reach. What do you notice? How is the Spirit leading you as you sit in silence?

Action or Application Questions

These questions are outcome-oriented. For action-oriented people, these questions help them feel like the devotional “did something” in that it led to a behavioral change. These prompt people to come up with applications in response to Bible texts or illustrations.

Here are some examples of these questions:

1. Who is one person in your life that you could text right now and tell him or her why you’re thankful for them? 
2. What is one way you could act with greater generosity this week?
3. How do you think you could better represent the heart of Jesus in your workplace today?

“Any Additional Comments” Questions

These questions are “bonus” in that they are purely open-ended and primarily serve to create space for the Spirit to prompt the person doing the devotional in related or unrelated ways. Perhaps what God wants to do in their life that day is only tangentially related to the devotional they are doing. 

Here are some examples of these types of questions:

1. What, if any, other Bible verses came to mind as you prayed today? What do you think the Spirit is asking you to consider or do?
2. Set a timer on your phone for one minute. Ask the Spirit: is there anything else you’d like me to consider?
3. What else, even if it’s unrelated, do you want to bring to the Lord in prayer right now?

As you build and write questions, remember that repeating questions in subsequent devotionals is definitely okay and a good thing. You don’t need to create questions from scratch every single time. You might find in a series of devotionals there are questions you ask regularly; this also is formative in that it shows people what questions they ought to be regularly asking of themselves. 

Shepherding your own heart as you write

It is good that pastors are the first people to sit under their sermons. We are sheep too, after all. The same principle applies to writing devotionals. It’s good that you do the devotional as you write it; don’t let the writing become a mechanical exercise you do for your job, but commune with God and be moved by the Spirit as you write and pray on behalf of your people.

What is God doing in your life right now? How can you invite people into that? What did you see in 1 John that moved you to repentance? You’re probably not totally unlike your people, and that is okay. “There are no sinful tendencies or temptations that are uncommon to man.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

It is likely that what God is doing in your life is upstream from what God will do in the life of the people you are shepherding. Believing this as you write and pray will not only serve to insulate you from self-righteousness, but it will make the tone of your devotionals invitational rather than shaming and patronizing. 

The process of writing a devotional

Writing a devotional has seven steps: purpose, type, structure, build, refine, ship, and solicit feedback.

1. Type—First, we decide the purpose. What do you want this to do? Who do you want to do it for? Why do you want to do it?
2. Clarify—We clarify the type. What type of devotional are you going to write? Will it walk through a book of the Bible? Address particular themes? Align with a moment or season in the calendar?
3. Structure—Outline the structure of the devotional or devotional series. How many weeks will it be? How many days per week? How long do you want the devotionals to be? One page? Half a page? One iPhone screen worth of material? Do you want it to take three minutes or thirty minutes? Select your texts and topics accordingly. 
4. Build—Begin to build your devotionals. Write out the illustrations and commentary – copy and paste the Bible texts. Type out drafts of your questions.
5. Refine—Edit and refine your devotionals. Check your grammar with ChatGPT. Double-check your cross references. Tighten up your stories. Get your formatting as good as you know how.
6. Ship It—Get it good enough to move on and then get it in front of your people. There are no perfect sermons, books, or devotionals. You’ll get better over time; pray for your work, pray for your people, and then hit send. 
7. Solicit Feedback—Ask people you trust what worked and what didn’t work. Let them know you’re a work in progress and help them see that you’re secure enough to stomach constructive criticism. Make tweaks and then rinse and repeat. 

All in all, if you have what it takes to preach a sermon, you have what it takes to write a devotional; the Lord will bless your effort, so get busy!